Every once-in-a-while I get lucky

Photography is my hobby. I know y'all have noticed that I've got the photography bug in me. (Note I said bug and not skills).

I try to challenge myself to compose shots just right, or try out different settings on my camera. Or at the very least, take hundreds of pictures so that a couple will turn out okay.

And then sometimes, I just get lucky.

That's JJ with Peanut-lover's dad, Poppa.

Let me tell you how lucky this shot was. The hat-he-would-not-wear had just been put on. I asked Poppa to tell him how cute he was so that he'd keep the hat on. Poppa grabbed him and suggested a picture (of course I had my camera strapped around my back).

I didn't have time to compose. I didn't have time to focus. All I had time to do was snap one picture and by the time I lowered my camera, the hat was at my feet, the boy and the watermelon were gone.

The picture should have been a blue and red and white streak. But it wasn't.

I got lucky. Don't you think?

Conversations with KK: on the phone

(I know it's Thursday, but I've got nothing for Five Things Thursday.... unless of course we changed it to Two Things Thursday because that's all I've got! If you participated this week, let me know in the comments!)


Lately KK has been pretending to talk to her "friends" on the phone a lot. Here's a conversation I caught recently:

KK: blah blah. blah blah blah. blah blah blah. (To mommy: I'm talking to someone on the phone).

Mommy: Who are you talking to?

KK: I don't know, I'll ask. (a minor detail apparently) What your name?

*pause*

KK: OH! You are my best friend!

*pause*

KK: You have any babies?

*pause*

KK: Four boys! Four baby boys. Awwwwwww.

*long pause*

KK: And how much your husband have?

*pause while Mommy's ears perk up*

KK: 20?! That so much!

Oh dear... anyone else think I missed a teachable moment there?

Through their eyes... and fingers

Several weeks ago, I was playing bejeweled on my iPod while KK and Daddy were drawing at the table.

First of all, KK brought over a few of her creations to show me.

I'm told, by my bloggy friends whose kids are slightly older than mine, that very soon I will be more than a head with legs and arms, so I wanted to record these while they last.

Why are we so sad in the picture? Because Daddy is not with us. (Both kids are especially attached to daddy right now).

Here, Daddy is with us, but for some reason, it appears that I am picking him up by his, um, chin and throwing him. I'm going to choose to believe that means she believes I have hidden strength. I love how JJ and KK are hugging. Or maybe they are scared because Mommy is throwing Daddy?

Once KK was done drawing, she asked her daddy to draw for her. And here's where the giggles started.

First, she wanted a picture of her on her bike, with Daddy helping her. So daddy drew for awhile. Then KK said, "Daddy, why you not wearing a shirt? Is that family talk?" (Family talk is code for stuff we only talk about in the privacy of our home.)

Wouldn't it be nice to have that kind of confidence about your own body?

And then, "Daddy, why are you wearing a skirt? Is that my skirt?"

(snicker)

Next, KK had daddy draw a picture of Mommy and JJ out for a walk. A few minutes in, I hear, "Daddy, what is mommy wearing?" "Those are big girl shorts," replied Daddy.
For the record. I don't wear short shirts like that, but I may be known to wear big girl shorts on rare occasions.

Finally, Daddy worked on a portrait of our whole family. When the snickering got out of control, I knew I had to see this one:

'Nuff said, right?

And there you have it. The latest art from the Weenut household.

Brrrrrr Brrrrrr Brrrrrr? Brrrrr Brrrrr

I must say, JJ is about one of the cutest little kids out there. I'm pretty sure I'm not at all biased either.

ahem.

Let me tell you, I am head over heels in love with this little guy. If you knew him like I do, I think you would be too.


He is the skinniest baby I have ever seen. He's just a little beanpole. You'd think I never feed the kid. The truth is, he eats constantly. Con-stant-ly. He doesn't really play with toys. Instead, he pulls up a chair next to me in the kitchen and snacks on tidbits of our meals as I cook. When we go out, I bring no toys, only healthy snacks to entertain him. He can sit in his booster seat for an hour as long as I keep the grapes and cucumbers and cheese and crackers and pita and oatmeal and beans and carrots coming. We measured it the other day and he eats five times as much as KK. You wouldn't know it by looking at him, though.


JJ doesn't have a lot of words yet, but he is an excellent communicator. And he always knows exactly what he wants.

When he wants something, he will pull me to the area and point at what he wants saying "Brrrr Brrr? Brrr Brrr Brrr?".

Brrr is his word for everything that is not mommy, daddy, KK, Grandpa, Grandma, Nana, Poppa, kitty, dog, ball, bath, uh oh, night-night, diaper, banana, or boots.

One time, he came in the kitchen, missing a sock and holding the other one in his head. He was shaking his head, saying "Brrrr Brrrr. Uh oh. Brrrr Brrrr Brrr. Uh oh." and pointing at the bathroom. Translation? "I dipped my socks in the toilet and I don't think I'm supposed to do that. Could you please come and clean up the mess for me?"

And then there's trucks. JJ notices every truck, motorbike, bus, airplane, helicopter, boat, bicycle, lawn-mower, and leaf-blower within our vicinity. Each one of them gets a moment of reverence and sometimes even a squat-to-get-a-better-look pose. He was just over the moon to be riding with Poppa in the backhoe a couple of weeks ago.

Having a boy is busy. It's tiring. It's all new.

I wouldn't trade a minute of it. My heart is lost to this little guy.

The fire that almost was **ETA**

I just about burned down our apartment today.

In my defence, I worked a night shift last night and had only had about 2 hours of sleep. And the kids were both sitting at the table chanting "pitas and hummus, pitas and hummus". They were hungry and I needed to produce something fast.

Still...

In retrospect, I should have known that our toaster wasn't meant to toast pitas.

Do you know how often I pop something in the toaster and then run off to the bathroom to pee and get distracted by a mess along the way? Too often. I should know better. I'm sure my parents taught me better.

Fortunately, this time, I was just in the next room when I heard the toaster making an awful noise. By the time I got in the kitchen, the pita was on fire, with rapidly growing flames shooting out the top of the toaster. I screamed out something like, "God! What do I do?" and then unplugged the toaster and threw it in the sink. The same sink that should have been filled with dishes, but for some reason was clear. With the water running, the fire died quickly.

But the crisis wasn't over yet. Now, I was in a fierce battle with the smoke. The kitchen was filled with smoke. Our smoke alarm was already ringing and I knew it wouldn't be long before it set the building alarms off. I really did not want to drag my half-naked children and my pajama'd self outside, avoiding eye-contact with all the other neighbours who had to evacuate while the firemen checked to make sure it was safe to enter.

It was nearly nap-time for goodness sake.

Fortunately, our hood fan has an amazing draw, and it managed to clear out enough of the smoke while I wildly waved a towel at the smoke alarm (and I've got the sore shoulder to prove it!). Then I ran and grabbed our fan to blow the rest of the smoke away from the smoke alarm.

KK was pacing through the kitchen and dining room worriedly asking, "What's going to happen to our home?" over and over. JJ was screaming in his booster seat. I was shaking uncontrollably.

But we were safe. The crisis was over.

And here is what I am thankful to God for:

1. I wasn't in another room like I am many times.

2. The sink was clear.

3. My hood fan has an awesome draw.

4. The smoke alarm stopped before it set off the building alarms.

5. No smokin' hot firemen had to come evacuate the building... oh... wait...

6. There were more pitas in the freezer (microwaved this time).

I may need a new toaster, however.

***Edited to Add***

Last night, when Peanut-lover got home, he had a new toaster with him. Our friends that were at the same meeting as him last night, read my facebook status and surprised us with a fancy new toaster. Thanks B and H!

Five things I love about Summer!

(I have a blog? Oh yeah, right... I guess I just haven't had much to say lately. Oh, and that laughter you hear is my husband. He'd probably love a day where I actually didn't have much to say. Keep dreaming baby!)

Anyways, here we are at Thursday and since this week, we are in the middle of a heat wave (don't tell anyone, but I'm dying of misery because I ain't so fond of this much heat), I thought I'd talk about five things that I love about summer.

1. Fairs

I hate crowds and I hate paying through the nose for anything, and yet I am in love with fairs. I lived in a very small city through my teenage years and every labour day weekend, our tiny little baby city hosted a massive fair. Each summer, I spent every waking moment at the fair. For 6 years now, I have been hoping to go back to my fair. I love the smells, the lights, the memories, the excitement in the air. I can't get enough of the rides, the energy, the romance, the music, the food. Oooooh Nelly, someone get me to a fair!

2. Romance

I don't know what it is, but there is something so romantic about summer. I think there is a freedom that comes with summer that makes it just a little easier to fall in love, whether for the first time, or over and over again with the same person. It's just something in the air.

3. Camping

I am actually a pretty miserable camper during the actual camping. Lack of sleep and lack of routines will do that to me. But I love looking back at the memories created during our camping trips. I love the laid back lifestyle: the wearing of the same dirty clothes every day, the letting go of nutritional guidelines (as much as I can), the campfires, the s'mores, and the family walks.

We try to do at least two week-long camping trips each summer, and we are fast approaching our first trip for this summer (which should explain the complete freak-outs that will start happening in about a week) (consider yourselves warned).

4. BBQ

Yeah, there's nothing like grilled meat that I haven't had to prepare. Nope. I'm not allowed to touch the BBQ. That's a "MAN's job". Not that I don't know how to BBQ because I do (and I've only singed my eyebrows and eyelashes twice, and not recently). I'm actually a pretty darn good BBQer, but in our home, the MAN runs the BBQ. Peanut-lover gets out there with his MAN tools and fire and presto: supper happens. And I had very little to do with it. And my house is not all heated up. That makes this momma very happy.

5. Fresh local produce

We eat a lot of fruit and veggies around here. Yeah, mom, you read that right. Fruits. And vegetables. It's nice when summer rolls around and we're not getting all our "fresh" food from California and Mexico. Our city has a lot of farmland, so we get all kinds of fresh produce come this time of year. And it is so much yummier when it has been allowed to ripen naturally. Can I get an Amen?

Now it's your turn. What's your five things this week? Write a blog post and link up to join the fun. Or, if you don't have a blog, leave me your list in the comments. You don't have to copy my topic, but feel free if you need a little direction. I can't wait to hear what y'all have to say!